CCMH in affiliation with Dalhousie University’s Department of Health Sciences and the Nova Scotia Hospital is commencing a pilot study designed to measure the effects of massage therapy on an inpatient group undergoing treatment in a withdrawal management detox program.

Dr. Kathleen Jacques, Executive Director of the Halifax campus is the principal researcher of the project which has attracted significant funding from the Holistic Health Research Foundation of Canada and the Massage Therapy Research Fund.

The Withdrawal Management program run by Addictions Prevention and Treatments at the Nova Scotia Hospital is an inpatient program employing a biopsychological approach to treat and empower individuals experiencing the physical and emotional stresses associated with withdrawal.  The participants of the detox program generally reach their goal, although the process of recovery is a difficult one. Among the many common troublesome side effects of the recovery process are acute anxieties and sleep disturbances.

The CCMH /Dalhousie/Capitol Health Study is designed to measure the effectiveness of massage therapy in mitigating these two side effects.  While numerous studies have illustrated the effectiveness of massage therapy in reducing anxiety, no experimental study has been designed to test its sleep enhancement effects in an addiction treatment setting.

This study will be the first such objective measure in a Canadian (or any) addiction recovery program.  The finding of the study will contribute towards providing patients with excellent, progressive addictions treatment, promoting the development of skills necessary to design and implement research in massage therapy and encourage the use of evidence based research to educate health professionals and the public about the value of therapeutic massage.

Way to go see CCMH.  We at WCCMT are very proud of our colleagues at CCMH on initiating and moving forward on this important research endeavour.